December 2004 - 91. årgang Nr. 5
1. Lars Emanuelsson Korsell:
Punishment and Self`-Regulation against Corporate Crime.
Corporate and white-collar crimes, or economic crime in the Scandinavian vocabulary, are very serious because they undermine trust. Trust is of fundamental importance in modern society because it is impossible to supervise behaviour in a complex environment. Because economic crimes are committed in organization by established persons and integrated with legal work, the offences are difficult to discover and investigate. Given that only few offences are prosecuted, it is necessary to supplement traditional law enforcement with preventive strategies in order to encourage compliance
A proper starting point for such strategies is to consider what we know about why people commit crime and why they obey the law. This knowledge suggests that punishment is actually less important for obtaining compliance than are reasonable legislation and relevant measures instituted by regulatory agencies. Self-regulation, especially enforced self-regulation, could also be an important tool. But we should not forget sanctions, and we should remember that it can be effective to punish legal entities as well as natural persons.
In sum, we need to use a regulatory mixture of information, service and self-regulation, control and punishment. Corporations and their representatives are different and therefore indicate the use of different tools for obtaining compliance.
2. Paulina Tallroth:
Language and International Jurisprudence.
Native language has an important impact on the verbal expression of societal rules and thus upon the written law. Yet the influence of language has rarely been considered in the international jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, the European Court of Justice, and the European Human Rights Committee. This article examines language and its implications in the case law of the aforementioned supervisory bodies. The analysis reveals that cases involving the component of language can be split into three categories: 1) Those lacking knowledge of language as an obstacle for being put up for election, 2) those lacking knowledge of language as an obstacle for obtaining work, and 3) those where language is interpreted as an element of a fair, linguistically comprehensible trial. The article concludes that language has generally been recognised as an instrument for the realisation of other fundamental rights - e.g., participatory political rights, the right to work and the right to a fair trial - as opposed to as a right itself. Nevertheless, it seems likely that the increase in international exchange and cooperation in our global world will require that more attention be paid to language in the future – not least in the areas of legislation and jurisprudence.
3. Robert Andersson:
The Re-Emergence of the Treatment Idea: From Psychoanalysis to Cognitive Programmes.
Rehabilitation is making a comeback as a crime prevention strategy. The new epistemology of rehabilitation is based upon the theories and practices of the cognitive behavioural therapy ideal. In this article I attempt to scrutinize this new epistemology employing Michel Foucaults governmentality perspective. I thereby focus on rehabilitation as an element in governance. I start by giving a brief account of the history of the epistemologies of the individualisation sciences. Through their studies of the human individual, and the epistemologies thereby produced, these sciences have played a part in the creation of the object of governance, the individual, and of the ways this governance of individuals is practised. In my examination I look to certain features that I argue are fundamental to it. These features, such as an assumption of some level of free will and a rationale of risk, all come together in producing a new political subject. What I find is that the hierarchical surveillance techniques of the old rehabilitation models are replaced by a horizontal form of surveillance aimed at making the subject see the “obvious” fact that a “normal” person is responsible of his or her actions. What is sought after is a form of self-knowledge, available through the confession of one’s faults, which is to be realized through the care of oneself and self-management. The goal of this process is the production of a prudent citizen capable of constituting part of the governmental visions of advanced liberalism.
Juli 2005 - 92. årgang Nr. 2
1. Dag Hariede:
The Police as Conflict Managers
The author divides the role of the police into three ideal types: Warrior; Long Arm of the Law; and Conciliator. While the first role is marginal and the second is politically correct, it is the third role that comprises the everyday reality for Nordic police. Contrary to popular conceptions derived from the media, both empirical studies and police law indicate that crime fighting is only a minor part of police work. Conflict management is an art, but also a science. The article pinpoints two factors that make some officers better than others at handling conflicts: the first is an absence of pre-judgments, while the second is the possession of skills in interactions that de-escalate conflicts. “Skills in practice” is launched as an educational approach that optimises attitudes, knowledge, and skills training. It combines the interest of self protection with the de-escalation of conflicts. Four opportunities/threats are discussed: internationalization; the never-ending growth of a need for protection in the welfare society; conflict as a welfare good that the police should not steal from the public unnecessarily; and ways by which a high level of trust in the police can be maintained in the Nordic countries. Two internal challenges are discussed: when measurable outcomes become the goal; and the reaction of the police to public complaints.
2. Knut-Fredrik Hustad:
Public Information or Trivialisation of the Court?
In December 2002, Norway broadcast its first televised court hearing. In November 2004, the Norwegian Society of Criminal Law and Criminology arranged a seminar during which the conflict between the principle of public admittance to court hearings and the media’s focus on criminal trials was discussed. This article gives a summary of the viewpoints presented in the introductory speeches.
3. Anders Nilsson:
What’s New About “The New Clientele”? A Comparison of Prison Inmates Released in 1992 and 2002
This article examines changes in the Swedish inmate population since the early 1990s. The study builds on questionnaires completed on the basis of released inmates’ treatment journals. The sample includes all inmates released in October 1992 and October 2002. The study focuses on the inmates’ social situations and shows that they have deteriorated: compared to those released in 1992, a substantially larger proportion of those released in 2002 occupy a marginalised position on the labour market and lack a permanent residence. These changes are discussed in terms of marginalisation and selection. The deterioration may in the first instance be ascribed to the group of inmates serving short prison sentences (of two months or less). The interpretation offered is that the changes are largely due to altered selection processes. During this period, new sentencing forms have been introduced as alternatives to shorter prison terms (electronic tagging and community service). These alternatives are not available to the most poorly resourced offenders since they require the offender to be employed, housed, and drug-free. This altered and intensified selection means that the clientele administered by the Prison and Probation Service - and particularly those in prison - have become older, are serving longer prison sentences, and have more serious social problems. A polarisation among offenders during this period is confirmed by the fact that sentences have become longer among prison service clients and the restrictions placed on them have increased. The article concludes with a discussion of the consequences of this trend for crime policy.
4. Britta Kyvsgaard:
Evidence-Based Crime Prevention: A Review of Recent Reports and Remarks on British Experiences
Evidence-based practices are spreading prolifically throughout the social sciences. This fact is reflected in many literatures, including that derived from research on the effectiveness of crime prevention. The current article traces the history of the evidence-based movement, and reviews some recent literature from the field. While the idea of research-driven experiments in crime prevention makes good theoretical sense, practical experiences from United Kingdom suggest that they are extremely difficult to implement in practise.
5. Erica Bergdahl:
The Transatlantic Treaty on Extradition: Background and News
Cooperation in the field of criminal administration has increased between the EU and the US since September 11, 2001. Yet there remains a significant need for more general regulations on extradition between these two entities. The general goal of the Transatlantic Treaty on Extradition is to overcome existing barriers caused by conflicting principles on human rights. These differences are the primary source of transatlantic conflict in this area. The US applies the non-inquiry principle, which means that no effort is made to research the nature of the criminal systems to which extradited prisoners are sent. In the EU, on the other hand, the inquiry principle is paramount, which means that the courts are actively involved in every single extradition decision. A second goal of the Treaty is to clarify the formal thresholds for the acceptance of a guarantee that the death penalty will not be applied to extradited prisoners. Without a well-functioning system of guarantees, extradition to the US will be impossible in cases where prisoners face capital charges. As currently ratified, the existing treaty can be criticized on a number of grounds. Among these are both the procedures by which the treaty is formed, and its material contents, which can hardly be regarded as providing a satisfactory solution to the existing problems in extradition between the EU and the US